Sidelines
by Wicked Wonders
Summary: Naruto can't sit back and wait on the sidelines anymore; it's now or never. He decides to leave for Orochimaru's, but he should have thought about the consequences of living with obnoxious Uchiha. SasuNaru, don't like don't read. YAOI, rating will change.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey y'all. xD I really think this story could turn out well, I just hope you guys can keep me inspired :)**

**Also, a little warning... I had trouble doing the first part of the fic. If you manage to survive the horrible first half, I think the last half is much better.**

**ANOTHER warning: the rating for this story will eventually become M, for those little things most people love... CITRUS FRUIT! Sometimes I'll give you a heads up, but not always. Surprises are fun, right?**

_**Main plot idea belongs to TheNightShadow4, though I added my own little mix to it, with their permission :D**_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, all rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto (or should I say viz? I dunnoooo :P).**

**(I'll try to remember to put the disclaimer in later chapters too :P But if not, then here ya go.)**

* * *

It was barely 3 o'clock in the morning; Naruto groaned at his clock as it began rather annoyingly. He smashed the snooze button in before sitting up to rub his eyes.

_Today is the day. I can't believe I'm really doing this..._

Within the next hour, he managed to take a shower, brush his teeth, get dressed, and even make a quick bowl of ramen. That must be a new record.

Begrudgingly, Naruto began packing his essentials; a few pairs of clothes, a toothbrush, some quick-fix ramen... into a large rucksack. He took one final glance around his apartment; he'd grown up here, he'd lived here nearly all his life... And he was just leaving it.

He was leaving Kakashi, Sakura, Iruka, Grandma Tsunade... he was about to leave everyone and every thing that he holds dear to him.

_But that's why I'm doing this, right? To keep them safe?_

The blonde sighed deeply, before returning to his room and grabbing the picture frame on his nightstand, next to the broken alarm clock. He shoved it in his bag after taking a long look at it, and continued out of his apartment.

* * *

It had already been an hour by the time Orochimaru showed up, Naruto waiting impatiently for him against a tree. They were a good few miles away from the village by now. The Sannin motioned for Naruto to follow, and they began the journey back to his hideout.

"Tell me, Naruto... what possessed you to leave your village to join my ranks?"

The question was one that the blonde had hoped wouldn't have been brought up. He sighed lowly before glancing up at the man. "It's not like... I mean, I'm not _really_ leaving them, of course... But if I stay there, it will only cause more trouble," he sighed again and looked at his headband, which he had taken off before leaving the village. "It's not like I'm a spy, or anything..."

The snake-resembling man nodded, apparently accepting the fact. Even though he had admitted this, however, the superior ninja couldn't help but be wary. He would have to keep an eye on the boy.

"I see; would this perhaps have anything to do with Sasuke?" He knew he had hit a nerve when he saw the younger's shoulders tense, and his pace sped up slightly.

In response, though, he simply got a barely audible, "No."

"Hm, if you say so. But I think your little friend will be... happy to see you," he smirked, raising his hand above his head, and snapping his fingers.

The blonde boy looked at him curiously, "I doubt i-"

On signal, Kabuto had leapt from his position in the trees, several meters away, dashing to where his lord and his new... _comrade_ were walking. The medical nin quickly took his hand and stabbed at Naruto's neck with his fingers, hitting the pressure points spot-on. The blonde fell to the ground, while Kabuto continued to pull a needle out of his pouch, then silently moving Naruto's sleeve up to inject the sedative into his arm.

"That should do it, Lord Orochimaru... He should be out long enough for us to get to the base," Kabuto looked up at his superior.

"Nicely done, my boy... Now, let us return to the base and begin our work."

* * *

Cerulean blue eyes cracked open, the light flooding his eyes until he had to squint. Naruto started to sit up, before being slammed back down, onto what seemed to be a medical table, by a pair of strong hands on his shoulders. The blonde winced in pain and groaned before rubbing his eyes, opening them to look at his surroundings.

He looked up to see Kabuto, glaring at him with an annoyed expression. "I guess you're awake, then. Well, I'll finish this later..." the older said, mostly to himself, as he began jotting some notes down into a journal and unhooking needles from Naruto, which he had just noticed.

"W... what the hell were you doing to me?" the younger shouted, starting to rip out needles that were still in.

Kabuto quickly grabbed his arms where there weren't needles and shoved him down again. "Quit it! I don't want to have to clean up after you, nor do I want to waste supplies on your stupid decisions!" Naruto grumbled before falling silent. He looked up to the white-haired boy, waiting for an explanation. "If you must know, I was studying your chakra. Lord Orochimaru wants me to look into your bodily functions and how they work, since you have a tailed beast. It could help us, but that's besides the point. Now, get up and get dressed before I sedate you again!"

The blonde scowled and sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the table. Kabuto shoved his orange jumpsuit into his face and went back to putting his vials and chemicals away. Naruto made a face while his back was turned, before shoving his legs and arms through the suit and zipping it up.

After Kabuto finished cleaning up, he waved his hand toward himself, motioning for Naruto to follow. He followed while the older lead him down the corridors, passing too many doors to count. If he had spare time, he might go exploring...

"... the kitchen." Naruto looked up and blinked, brought back from his thoughts.

"Uh... what?"

Kabuto sighed, "Idiot... I was saying, first I'm going to show you your room, then we'll go to the kitchen." Naruto's mouth formed an 'O', though not vocally expressing his understanding. Kabuto shook his head before continuing. "Just to warn you, some things in the kitchen are off limits... including the tomatoes. Don't ask." Naruto didn't need to, though; he remembers how much Sasuke loved his tomatoes... how vicious he was when someone grabbed the last package of them in the market. He giggled idiotically at the thought, though still upset by the memories, earning an odd look from Kabuto.

"Er... ya, no tomatoes. Got it."

As Kabuto had promised, he showed the knucklehead blonde to his room, which was fairly dusted and filthy... It was a small room, consisting of only a bed, a desk, a side table and a lamp. It was sufficient enough, Naruto thought, it's not like he had much more than that in his apartment; but there weren't even any windows! And the floors, they were simply concrete... it was quite a homely sight...

After Kabuto had shown him his room, which only took about ten seconds, he quickly led him into the kitchen, which, thankfully wasn't very far from his room. It was basically the same as the rest of the base, though the floors were wooden and actually a little more cozy looking, with the beige refrigerator, stove, and other kitchen appliances. There was a wooden table in the center, with four, also wooden chairs around it, with plush seats. It seemed to be a common place for the people in the base to be, if it was this nicely decorated (compared to the rest of the hideout).

Lastly, Naruto was led down several more twisting corridors, until finally coming across a rather large door, with a snake carved into it.

"This is Lord Orochimaru's office. Knock before you enter, and if you get no response, just leave."

With that, Naruto was left alone, as Kabuto returned to the infirmary to study. He quickly realized he didn't know where he was...

* * *

The next morning found a sleeping, golden-haired boy, propped up against the wall of one of the many corridors. The night before, Naruto had spent _forever_looking for his room, before finally giving up and deciding he would find it later.

He twitched his eyes open, easily allowing them to adjust to the dim light of the hallway. He sat up and popped his knuckles, before bending his back until it cracked. He groaned at the feeling; sleeping against a wall wasn't exactly comfortable. After setting on his way, still feeling a little stiff, Naruto began his search once more, until stumbling upon a familiar four-way intersection in the hall. If he remembered correctly, one of these directions took him to his room, another to the kitchen, and the other... well, he hasn't been down that way yet.

_I guess I'll just have to take my chances._

Quickly making his random decision, the kyuubi vessel took the left, eventually coming across the kitchen. It wasn't his room, but he _was_ a little hungry. Digging through the cabinets and fridge, Naruto could find _no ramen!_ What kind of person doesn't have an unlimited supply of ramen? He muttered incoherent words before deciding on some milk and cereal (which looked a little stale). He managed to find a clean bowl and poured what was left of the cereal into it, before uncapping the milk jug. He tipped it over the bowl... and the seemingly decent milk began coming out in chunks.

"Oh my _go-_ What the hell is wrong with this place? There's no decent food anywhere!" he groaned loudly before commencing to slam his head against the table; he stopped however, when he heard a familiar dark chuckle behind him.

"Idiot... you're going to kill the few braincells you have left," Naruto turned, wide-eyed, to see the dark-haired raven he once called a friend. "What are you doing here, anyway? Orochimaru told me we were getting short on henchmen, but I didn't expect him to stoop so low..."

Naruto couldn't very well speak, much less form thoughts. The Uchiha stood leaning against the doorway, an annoyed yet bored look on his face; as per usual. His coal black hair was fixed in it's usual duck-ass style, just like when they were younger. He sported a white shirt that opened to reveal his well toned chest; Naruto had to pry his eyes away to quit staring (though he wouldn't admit it was staring; just... evaluating). A purple cloth was tied around his waist by a lilac rope made into a belt, with the front of the rope sporting an elongated bow. His baggy dark blue pants covered some gray socks, which eventually went down to join his standard ninja shoes.

To be frank, Naruto was amazed. It had only been a few months since their last encounter, but seeing his teme again, up close, he could see all the little details he hadn't noticed before, while they were distracted by their fight. The blonde noticed how his jaw was set roughly, as if trying to hold back a remark. His hair was quite shiny, even in what little light came from the ceiling lamps. Naruto wondered how someone could be so obsessed with their hair...

"Are you listening, idiot?" For the second time in less than two days, Naruto was snapped back from his thoughts, to the present. _I really should pay more attention._

"Uh, ya, can you just... repeat that?" he chuckled sheepishly.

"Great, and we have to live under the same roof..." Sasuke muttered, more to himself, but nonetheless loud enough for the blonde to hear. Naruto could feel his chest constrict slightly before the feeling vanished, replaced by slight anger and annoyance; it was almost like the old days.

"It's not exactly a slice of pie for me either, you know!"

"Feh, whatever. Just meet me in the training area when you're done eating. Or do you even know where it is?"

"Maybe..."

* * *

After Naruto _finally _finished his 'meal' (it's kind of hard to concentrate on eating when you have a bare chest taunting you), the Uchiha took pleasure in following the dobe around, watching as he would become confused and irritated, before finally giving up and asking for help. Sasuke had decided to wait in the kitchen for Naruto, simply because he knew he would never get to fight him if he were to let him find his own way. It was actually rather cute to the raven, watching his blonde idiot wander the halls aimlessly, that adorable way he-

_What am I _thinking? _Maybe Kabuto is right, I should get outside more... _he shook his head clear of those thoughts, then continued to lead the knucklehead to their destination.

Once they were inside, Sasuke turned quickly to face the blond. "Let's spar. I want to see if you're even _worthy _of holding the Kyuubi." Sasuke knew that would only enrage the blonde, but that would only make the fight more interesting.

"Fine, let's do this, then!"

Soon they were on opposite sides of the training ground (which was inside the base), the faulty lights above them, swaying slightly back and forth, cast off a slight brightness that only added to the thoughts and feelings that ran through theirs heads, of their first real sparring match since they were much younger. It was more than a duel, it was a test. Who would come out a winner? Who has improved, who has fallen behind?

The two comrades ran forward, their weapons drawn, Sasuke's katana and Naruto's fūma shuriken. Blades clashed and metallic sounds screeched in their ears. The two jumped back again, Naruto's fūma shuriken disappearing in a 'poof' of smoke. He began doing hand signs, before shouting, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Three shadow clones appeared, two of which ran at Sasuke, the other staying behind to swirl chakra into Naruto's palm, until it became a sphere. The two clones went at the raven from opposite sides, kunai at ready. At the last moment however, the Uchiha leapt into the air, causing the clones to attack each other and disappear as well.

As soon as Sasuke had landed, though, Naruto had already begun dashing towards him, preparing to attack.

"Rasengan!" he shouted. At the same time, Sasuke began doing some hand signs as well, while the blonde closed in on the distance between them.

"Fireball Jutsu!"

Naruto's eyes widened slightly, before managing to jump out of the way, barely missing the fierce flames. Panting heavily, they stood only a few meters apart, though neither were scathed badly at the moment. Naruto continued to watch his opponent, waiting for any sign of his next move. But all he noticed was the smirk planted on the raven's face; it was too late then, but Naruto began to realize what was going on.

Suddenly, the room began morphing, the rocky walls and floor turning white, until it appeared that he were in some other dimension. He looked around cautiously, timidly reaching for his kunai, before realizing he was missing all his weapons. A booming laugh surrounded him; Naruto had to cover his ears from the extreme loudness. He felt a stinging sensation on his feet and legs; when he looked down, he could see several large snakes, beginning to devour him whole. He fell back, shrieking once before clawing at the scales of the reptiles. It didn't do any good, however, as the snakes began swallowing his arms. Naruto let out a shrill cry of pain as their fangs tore into his skin, seemingly beginning to bleed precariously. The snakes slowly and painfully made their way up to his neck, where Naruto's cries were cut short from the punctures to his throat. He began making hoarse coughs and sounds, throwing his head back and forth. Suddenly, though, the illusion ended, and the blonde found himself on the rocky terrain of the training area, laying on his back, with a raven-haired beauty above him, sitting on his stomach.

"You lose," were the only words he said, as Sasuke stood and left Naruto alone in the empty room. He groaned loudly before laying his head back down on the rocks, and closing his eyes, letting black flood his mind.

* * *

**Wow, just barely 3,000 words.**

**I hope you guys like it :) Can I get just, maybe... 1 review? That would make my day ;D I might even be tempted to update earlier.**

**I think I wrote the fight scene well... what do you guys think? Any tips?**


	2. Chapter 2

**THANK YOU SO MUCH GUYS! ;D I'm so review happy that I give you this chapter :)**

**Sorry for any more spelling or grammatical errors! Auto-spell check seems to like replacing my words for me... I had to**** change 'Orochimaru' at least four times, because it kept being replaced by Irishman (uh?). XP So ya, sorry if I missed anything else xD**

******Disclaimer: why must you remind me that I don't own it? D;**

_******Main plot idea belongs to TheNightShadow4 :)**_

* * *

Walking down the now _slightly_ understandable curving halls, Naruto could feel the intense gaze on his back as he and the teme continued to Orochimaru's office, where they had been summoned. Once again, Sasuke had taken the pleasure of allowing our blonde idiot to lead the way. But, after living here for slightly over a month, Naruto had gotten the hang of the maze of corridors... Kind of.

Finally, after at least fifteen minutes, they managed to arrive in the Sannin's office, where the snake lord was waiting with his right-hand man, Kabuto. Upon entering the large door closed, ensuring their privacy.

"Well, Naruto... it seems as if our little _friends_ over in Amegakure have picked up on your disappearance. Some of my henchmen have sent word to me, advising me of a distinct change in the Akatsuki's mood. We can't be sure, but I believe they're only partially aware of the situation... I estimate roughly two or three months before they begin their advances. Until then, we must be cautious. I'm appointing you to my dear Sasuke's living quarters; make sure you are with someone, _anyone_ working under me at all times. We don't need you being caught, now, do we?"

Naruto sighed; by the look on Orochimaru's face, he knew there was an underlying reason for being placed with Sasuke. _Jeez, what a perv... at least Jiraiya didn't go after some teenagers!_

Even though this was great news, Konoha should be safe now, after all; Naruto couldn't help but feel the anger rise inside himself. Why couldn't those damned Akatsuki just leave him alone? All he knew was that they wanted his tailed beast, but is that all he was to them? Some possessed human, inflicted by someone else's choice, that almost ruined his life? These thoughts raced through our sad blonde's mind, bringing back the pang of loneliness and suffering, feelings he hadn't felt in years...

"Well c'mon, idiot, let's get going," the blonde turned to follow the Uchiha, his mind still mulling over these annoying and cruel thoughts.

Before he knew it the blonde was in a rather large room, which was rather nice, to put it simply. The lamps overhead actually cast off a nice glow, giving enough light that it actually covered the room. It even had a window!

_Of course, only the best for royalty,_ Naruto scoffed, remembering how his teme would always demand the respect he 'deserved' when they were younger.

On his right, Naruto examined a door, which he supposed led to a closet, along with a desk and lamp. He glanced around, noting the same design on the walls as in the corridors; the brown, curved lines that eventually came to meet one another, making a sort of style resembling a bandage. To the left of the room was an average sized bed, yet bigger than the one he had been given. Naruto immediately realized their was only one bed, but the raven seemed to sense his odd worry.

"The others will bring your bed down by tomorrow," he spoke with closed eyes, before striding to the desk and sitting in the polished wooden chair, leaving Naruto to wonder randomly. What would it be like sharing a room with his teme? What if they were to become even worse rivals than they are now; or the opposite, become the good friends they use to be? Who are these 'others' he was talking about?

The blonde decided that these thoughts were too pestering, and decided to try and take his mind off them. "I'm going to go train," he said quietly, before taking his leave.

Luckily, he didn't necessarily have to disobey Orochimaru's orders of staying with someone at all times, as there were two other people already in the training room. Sighing in relief, Naruto began doing some stretches before walking over to some punching bags. After a pause, he swiftly struck at the hard yet plush material, which was followed by another strike, and another. The dobe could feel his pent up anger and frustration rising and being released; with each thrust he could feel his body becoming slightly more numb, until finally he sat down against the wall, catching his breath. He glanced up at the velvet red punching bag, noticing it was split open in the back, from where he had punched so hard. The stuffing was hanging out, some limply falling to the floor.

_Maybe I need therapy._

Naruto chuckled and rolled his eyes. But once again, thoughts like his earlier ones began to infiltrate his somewhat peaceful mind...

He had left Konoha for their sake, right? But the blonde couldn't help but feel guilty, he didn't even say goodbye... Even if they were safe, there was no doubt in his mind that his closest friends, Sakura, Kakashi... Hell, even the Pervy Sage would be worried. They had all grown so close over the years, and Naruto had just practically thrown it all way.

Suddenly realizing he was crying, Naruto shoved a fist into his eye to wipe it dry, repeating the process with the other eye. He didn't know what time it was, but the blonde decided it was time for a nap. He stood and swiped his pants off, before trekking back his now shared room. Thankfully, when he arrived, he only received a questioning glance from the Uchiha, probably because of his red and puffy eyes, before said raven returned to his work at the desk.

Hoping the teme wouldn't mind, yet still not really caring about his opinion, Naruto commenced to lay down on the plush comforter, sighing quietly and happily at the soft feeling. It only took a few seconds before the blonde's mind clouded with dreams and irrelevant fantasies.

After a few minutes, Sasuke looked up to where the dobe was laying slightly annoyed by someone simply _intruding _on his belongings without even asking, yet still calm and transfixed on the sleeping figure. Silently he stood, walking over to sit on the edge of his bed. Gazing calmly at the dobe, he watched appraisingly as Naruto's chest heaved up and down with each breath, how the blonde boy's face occasionally scrunched up as if in distaste to something. Noticing the (barely) younger shiver slightly, the raven pulled the duvet up from the foot of the bed, covering the blonde, before returning to his place at his desk.

* * *

"I don't care what you _think _happened to him! I want real, provable answers!" the shrill voice of the tipsy Hokage echoed through the building; even a few of the Anbu in front of her shuddered at the sound. All of them disappeared in a hasty cloud of smoke, leaving only the captain behind.

"Yes, M'lady we will, ah... continue investigating."

After the captain had left, in a hurry, I might add, the busty female behind the desk let out a groan, before laying her head on the desk.

"U-um, Lady Tsunade? Jiraiya is here to s-speak with you..." Shizune squeaked, partially hiding behind the door.

"Fine, let him in!" Tsunade growled, balling her fists in annoyance.

A few moments later, the Toad Sage walked into the room, hesitantly looking around. There were a few smashed sake bottles on the floor, as well as some pictures with broken frames either on the floor or leaning against the wall. There was an unpotted plant by the door from which he entered; the pot was cracked open on the side with mulch spilling out, the plant hanging sideways, limply hanging down. It was almost as if the plant were whispering, _help me sir, please?_

The Sannin frowned, _don't worry little guy. Help is on t-_ Jiraiya was brought back by a book that collided with his head.

"Pay attention, you ignorant ass!" _Wow, she's so hot when sh-_ "As I was _saying_, if you don't already know, Naruto is missing. We did, however, find that a few of his belongings were missing from his apartment as well. Do you have any thoughts on his whereabouts?"

"N-no, not really... The last time we saw each other was a few days ago, before I left on a mission. At the time, he didn't give any signs of leaving. Are you sure that someone didn't just try to fool us by removing a few items? Naruto isn't the kind of kid to just run off... not without a reason,"

"I don't know. I'm having a few Anbu continue to search the apartment, two others acting as spies in nearby villages, and the rest are on patrol around the village. Whatever is happening, we can't lose focus now; if any of the neighboring lands find out about his disappearance, it will all go downhill..." Tsunade sighed and pinched her nose, before setting her elbows on the desk and cradling her head in her hands.

"Naruto, where are you?"

* * *

**Woohoo! A teensy bit of SasuNaru fluff :) I don't want to rush into the romance, so I figured I'd start it off light.**

**The next chapter may or may not come tomorrow, I want to keep planning out the plot before the story gets caught up to it, because then it will just be a huge mess... XP**

**And I know this chapter was shorter, but the last chapter was meant to be a sort of prologue. So I'm sorry if you don't like this short, but expect most of the chapters to be between 1,500 to 2,000 words long :) Give or take for special occasions ;D**

**Thanks :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. (****It's only chapter 3 and I'm already bored with disclaimers... XP)**

_**Main plot idea belongs to TheNightShadow4 :)**_

* * *

It had been a week and Naruto's bed _still _hadn't shown up, meaning he was left at the mercy of a bare-chested Uchiha that liked to sleep in _only_ his boxers... The blonde wouldn't have been bothered by it (much), except for some odd reason, Sasuke had a tendency to spoon him in his sleep. And upon confronting him about it, the raven simply told him to 'shut up and enjoy it.' Naruto did his best to ignore it, given the raven had been half asleep when he said it...

After a quick breakfast, said blonde found himself walking alone with the creepy (and slightly moldy) cavernous halls, mostly just to disobey the snake lord; Naruto didn't like him much anyways. Besides, being on his own would give him time to clear his thoughts.

Taking his time striding down the distant-feeling corridors, our blonde wandered aimlessly, thinking of the Leaf Village. How are they doing? Are his friends getting along alright without him? Did they even notice his absence? The last thought caused his face to scrunch up into worry, but he quickly dismissed it.

_If the Akatsuki already know I'm gone, my friends should definitely know._ Naruto smiled at his logical thought.

But what is the blonde to do if he's ever confronted by his comrades? He's different from Sasuke; he wouldn't be able to handle it as smoothly as the raven did. What if he breaks and returns to the village? He'd be risking their lives again; he can't let that happen. Naruto would just have to be strong and pull through if such an incident were to occur.

Rubbing his temple, Naruto sighed at his pulsing head; he wasn't use to thinking of things in such depth. Hell, he's even seeing things now; Naruto could have sworn he just saw a pink-

No, he _did_ see a pink head of hair! _But what would Sakura be doing here? She didn't follow us, did she? No... Sakura isn't that stupid._

Picking up his pace, the blonde watched as the pink dot in the distance disappeared around a corner. Quickly speeding up to a run, Naruto turned the corner, stopping just in time to keep from running into the pink dot. Although... this dot was _red_, not pink. And, looking closer, Naruto could see the distinctly longer hair, as well as one side which was unkempt. The girl gave him an odd, almost a creeped out expression. She had noticeably darker hair than Sakura, as well as a pair of red eyes that were faintly hidden behind some glasses. Her purple jacket flowed down to her wrists, the bottom of it just reaching under her waist, with the buttons undone to reveal her naval. Her black shorts barely covered anything, while her black stockings reached to her knees... In simple words, she could almost pass as a whore.

"Can I help you?" Naruto quickly realized he had been staring, snapping his attention back to her face. He was actually kind of disgusted; to think this girl resembled his Sakura...

"Uh... sorry, I just... thought you were someone else," the blonde replied sheepishly.

"Well, alright then... I'm Karin, and you are?"

"Naruto Uz... I mean, Naruto, my name's Naruto," he replied, quickly deciding he'd rather not let this girl know of his... _ability_, so to speak.

"Oh, so you're the new recruit! I guess you seem decent enough, you could probably hold your own in a fight..." Karin smirked, noticing the visible anger on the blonde's face.

Naruto growled quietly, but was interrupted by the red-head. "Who have you met so far? Have you met Sasuke-kun?" the tone she added when saying Sasuke's name started to enrage Naruto more; she said it as if she _owned _it, as if she owned Sasuke! She's probably know him for less than a year and- "Sasuke and I are in love! We're going to get married and have three children..." Naruto mentally face-palmed; this girl was an _idiot._ There was no way Sasuke would fall for such a stupid girl.

"Ya, ok, you love him and all, how about we talk about something, I don't know... less pathetic?" Naruto chuckled when the girl 'hmphed' and turned on her heels to leave. He followed her down the hallway, where they eventually ended up outside the base.

Naruto realized he had only been outside once or twice since joining Orochimaru when the sun nearly blinded him. It was so bright outside compared to the depressing feeling Sasuke's and his room gave off, along with everywhere else in the base. Naruto could immediately notice the difference in himself as soon as he stepped into the forest area. He felt as if he were more alive (**A/N: I know, cliché :P**).

"Well, what do you think of Sasuke? You've met him, right?"

"Ya, we've, um... met. He's ok..." Naruto mumbled, mentally wishing to get off the topic of his teme.

"Wow, you're really talkative," the red-head said sarcastically. "I think I'm going to get a snack," she said, before turning to go back the way they had come.

Naruto sighed thankfully; he could finally enjoy being outdoors in peace. After just under half an hour, Naruto came across an outside training field.

_How come nobody told me about a second training field... and an outdoor one at that!_ he raged in his head. Well, at least now he could make up for the lost time he spent indoors.

Coming closer the blonde noticed a familiar purple and blue outfit, complete with jet black hair. He watched as the teme struck at a tree stump with his foot continuously. _That's odd, he never was one for taijutsu..._

Dismissing the irrelevant thought, Naruto sat against the nearest tree, letting his skin soak in the UV rays from the sun. He was probably incredibly pale by now...

Eventually his eyelids drooped down until they were fully closed, and his mind was in a peaceful trance... which was soon broken by a kick in the shin.

"What the hell- Teme!" Naruto growled, clutching his leg.

"... You wouldn't answer me."

"Because I was trying to nap!"

"Whatever; as I was saying, what are you doing outside of the base?" the blonde could barely hear the frustrated tone in the Uchiha's voice, much different even for his usual monotone.

"I followed this girl out here... Karin, I think... which reminds me, are you guys really dating?" Naruto felt a chuckle rise in his throat, though the undertone of curiosity and slight hurt was faintly recognizable.

Noticing his teme sigh, however, lifted his hopes a little. "No, just ignore her. She's more of an idiot than you."

"Hm, I see," Naruto pondered. _He sure is talkative today._

"Go back inside."

The blonde frowned up at Sasuke, "But I don't want to."

He could almost see the frustration on the Uchiha's face; it was kind of fun bothering the teme. "Dobe... just go inside already,"

"Why?"

"Because I said so."

"You're not my boss!"

Naruto tried to hide his chuckle as Sasuke's hand lifted to pinch the bridge of his nose. The blonde would savor this moment of slight dominance for the rest of his life.

"You idiot; if you stay out here for too long, someone might find you."

"So what if they do?"

"They could take you back to Konoha,"

"So you're worried that I'll be taken back?"

"I- no, quit manipulating my words!" Naruto began giggling childishly at the display of emotions rarely seen from the Uchiha. Sasuke groaned in frustration before crossing his arms and regaining his composure.

_Well, it was fun while it lasted._ Naruto began to stand, before roughly being shoved to the ground, with the teme following.

"What the hell!" the blonde groaned noticing their uncomfortable position, him on his back in the grass with Sasuke hovering beside him, a hand on his chest to keep him down.

He heard a clink of metal and looked up to see a silver kunai lodged into the tree, right where his head had been a few seconds ago. Naruto looked to the Uchiha hoping for an explanation, if he had one.

"Anbu," he muttered simply before jumping back up, onto his feet. Naruto followed suit quickly, looking around at the small number of specially trained ninja, taking in the details of their animal resembling masks.

One of them, presumably the captain, charged towards them with his katana wielded. Naruto quickly took out his kunai to deflect it, the dueling pair leaping backwards when neither showed sign of giving up. The blonde landed on a tree branch, drawing some shuriken which he swiftly flung at the captain, who easily dodged the simple maneuver.

Sasuke jumped into a tree as well, a few feet away. He looked over to the blonde, both silently recognizing their thoughts: move to a different terrain, being in a large open area wouldn't prove helpful. It was weird and foreignly different for both of them; not having battled together, on the _same side _that is, for over two years should have hindered their teamwork, but already they were able to make their moves together efficiently.

Moving almost in sync the duo led their enemies deeper into the wooded area, until they were all but engulfed by trees. The Anbu followed, thankfully for the two, prepared for whatever plan the teenagers had in mind. Two of the Anbu closed in on Sasuke, while the remaining three, including the captain, prepared to attack Naruto.

"Fire style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Sasuke formed some hand signs before pressing a hand to his lips in a circle, where balls of flames began to rocket out towards the two Anbu. One managed to dodge, but the other wasn't so lucky; he was easily burnt by the fire before he fell to the ground in a disfigured heap. The Uchiha lost sight of the first ninja before suddenly noticing the figure behind him, leaping out of the way just in time as a metal blade was stabbed in his direction. Quickly changing his footing to face the masked nin, he drew his katana and their blades clashed with a rough clink.

Naruto glanced over to see his comrade handling himself well, compared to the blonde. He had already managed to fatally wound one of the Anbu, but the other two were still going strong. Quickly he summoned a few clones, all but one of them dashing towards the enemies, some throwing shuriken while others pulled out kunai or paper bombs. Most of the clones were wiped out quickly, but the distraction gave Naruto enough time to form his Rasengan. His clone disappeared, leaving the blonde to storm at one of the ninja and shove the spinning ball of chakra into his abdomen, shredding his close and skin in the process. The Anbu member fell to the ground on his side while blood oozed through the gaping hole. The blonde heard a yelp of pain to his left, where he noticed the teme taking care of the last ninja.

"You still have a lot to learn, Naruto," the black-haired boy said, before taking his leave to report to Orochimaru.

Naruto looked around sadly at the corpses littering the ground; these were people from his own village, that he just slaughtered... He might even know one of them! He was supposed to be protecting the Leaf, not endangering them more by wiping out their forces.

For a few minutes the blonde stood there staring at the bloody mess, before finally deciding what's done is done, and that he can't turn back time. He hastily took his leave.

* * *

**A/N: Alrighty, so I've got a few things to inform you guys about:**

**1) After this chapter, I'll probably start updating once or twice a week. I just wanted to get the story going before setting a specific time. But I have a bad procrastination problem, so I can't say for sure a certain day of which I'll update. I'll try to update within three or four days, though.**

**2) This may come as good or bad news depending on who you are, but Karin is not going to be a major part of the story; I'm mostly including her for little things, but she will be around for a while, maybe every few chapters or so, but I can tell you she will be in the next chapter. Sorry if I disappoint XP I personally love Karin... xD *cough* yuri *cough***

**3) It may seem weird, but I just LOVE when you guys guess what will happen, because you never know, I might just borrow your ideas or mix them up a little ;)**

**4) Some of you might also be wondering where the yaoi is... Well, I don't really want to rush into their relationship. After all, they've not seen each other for quite some time, and you don't really just hop into bed first thing, xD But I promise some fluff in the next chapter, more or less.**

**Anyways, that's pretty much it. I _really_ need to start packing down on the plot, because I have the main climax(es?) and stuff planned, I just need a little more build up/rising action. I do have some of the rising action thought out, though, so don't worry too much xD**

**Until next time :D**


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